CMV Australia

Still commonly referred to as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City has driven the country forward with its pulsating energy. Wander through timeless alleys to incense-infused temples before catching up with the present in designer malls. The real beauty is this city’s blend of two worlds into one thrilling, seething mass. A host of exhilarating tours get you way off-the-beaten track.

Cambodia offers you the chance to unwind and relax on its perfect white beaches and enjoy the warm tranquil waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Perhaps choose to visit Wat Krom, a unique and beautiful Buddhist temple overlooking Sihanoukville and the sea. The temple was built to dedicate to the local deity Yeah Mao and is a holy place.

Full of contradictions, the City of Angels - Thailand’s capital city, has a rich, multifaceted personality. What Bangkok lacks in museums, it makes up for in impressive temples and shiny palaces. There is a series of beautiful Buddhist temples to visit, including the Wat Pho and Wat Arun. The Grand Palace is definitely worth visiting, and a longtail boat ride - thrilling.

Steeped in its colonial past, the Lion City of Sir Stamford Raffles is one of the most exciting cities in the East and provides an opportunity to visit the alleyways of Chinatown, a Hindu Temple, Sentosa Island, the world renowned botanical gardens, Jurong Bird Park and Orchard Road. Don’t forget to treat yourself to a Singapore Sling at the famous Raffles Hotel.

The fabulous island resort of Phuket is an oriental gem with beautiful beaches, excellent shopping, elephant rides and sightseeing opportunities. Sites and sights to savour range from N’Ga Bay, famous for its unique limestone islands; to the popular Patong beach with its open air bars to the quieter areas of Kata and the bustling old charm of Kamala.

Sri Lanka’s capital is a delightful concoction of past and present. Its busy, man-made harbour, from which tea, spices and rubber are exported, stands side-by-side with historical museums and monuments. Colombo offers an array of charms, from the Royal Botanical Gardens to the Pettah Bazaar. 

Beautifully situated in Kerala, Cochin has been drawing traders and explorers to its shores for over 600 years. If you’re not tempted by an overland excursion to Delhi or Agra and the Taj Mahal, take in some of Cochin’s fascinating cultural legacy, which includes a synagogue, churches, mosques, temples and the crumbling remains of the British Raj. Don’t miss the Mattancherry Palace or a stroll along the lovely beach, scattered with unique Chinese fishing nets.

Your first glimpse of Mumbai, a densely populated and intoxicating city, will be the iconic Gateway of India that sits on the waterfront. A trip to Elephanta Island visits the temple carved out of rock. Visit too, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus whose exterior is a jungle of stone. Be sure to experience the furious energy of Mumbai’s markets.

The second city of the Sultanate of Oman, after Muscat, Salalah is a place of antiquity with a heritage dating back to 100 B.C. and a number of natural attractions such as the nearby mountains, lush wadi areas and an attractive coastline with beautiful beaches. An abundance of Frankincense trees in the area give rise to the epithet ‘Perfume Capital of Arabia’.

The port of Aqaba has been an important strategic and commercial centre since Roman times. It presents the opportunity to visit the lost city of Petra, which lies in the surrounding desert - a city that is estimated to date back to 6,000 B.C. - and Wadi Rum, where T.E. Lawrence found his destiny as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. 

Santorini, or Thira, is a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea approximately 120 miles south east of the Greek mainland and is home to a rich variety of landscapes and villages.
Perched 900ft high on the dramatic cliffs overlooking the bay is the Island’s capital, Fira. A short cable car ride from the port brings you to this quaint old town with whitewashed buildings lining narrow cobblestoned streets bursting with shops, tavernas, hotels and cafes.
Beyond the town there is a beautiful countryside where tradition still survives. Cave houses, gardens, vineyards and tiny churches are all waiting to be discovered.

As the capital city of Malta, Valetta provides the perfect balance between the buzz of hectic city life and the tranquillity found in its peaceful palace and gardens. The majority of the magnificent buildings found in this city are Baroque in character and date back to the 16th century during the reign of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, but there are also hints or neo-classical and modern architectural design to be found. Valetta was named after Jean Parisot de la Valette who not only laid the first foundation stone of the city, but also protected it against Ottoman invasion in 1565. Tragically, he passed away before his city was completed at the age of 74, but his remains now rest at St. John’s Co-Cathedral. Valetta is a rare urban treasure that has preserved nearly all of its original features and was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

The oldest continuously populated city in Spain, Cadiz is a unique ocean port in south west Spain that has been inhabited for the last 3000 years.
Located on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Cadiz, the city is surrounded almost entirely by water and thanks to its historical trade links, it has many foreign influences that are still visible today.
Narrow cobbled streets, small squares and weather-beaten buildings dating back to the Moors make the old city a charming place to explore with look-out towers used by merchants to spot returning trade ships scattered along the skyline. Cadiz also has a fine collection of ancient and contemporary art in its many